EVALUATION OF PLANT SPACING ON SEED YIELD AND QUALITY OF Clitoria ternatea L. CV. TEHUANA

Abstract

The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of plant spacing on Clitoria ternatea L. cv. Tehuana seed yield and quality. The experiment was carried out under rainfed conditions, from December 2006 to September 2007, at the Universidad del Papaloapan, Loma Bonita, Oaxaca, México. Five plant distances (T1=broadcast, T2:25*25, T3:50*50, T4:75*75, and T5:100*100 cm between rows and plants, respectively) were tested. Treatments were distributed in a randomized complete design, with three replicates. Seed yield (SY), seed yield per plant (SYP), number of pods per plant, number of pods per m2, pod length, number of seeds per pod, 100-seed weight, and seed germination were evaluated. SY showed differences between treatments (P<0.01), the greater yield was found in T2 (482 kg ha-1), similar to those obtained in T1 and T3 (321 y 320 kg ha-1, respectively), but significantly different and higher (P<0.05) than those obtained in T4 and T5. SYP, number of pods per plant, number of pods m-2, and number of seeds per pod, showed differences among treatments (P<0.01). Number of pods per m2, pod length, and number of seeds per pod were the yield components which showed a greater association with SY, with r values of 0.70, 0.57, and 0.52, respectively. 100-seed weight and germination percentage were not affected significantly by the plant spacing (P>0.05). It can concluded that the highest seed yield was obtained at the 25*25 cm spacing between rows and plants, respectively. Seed germination was not affected by any of the treatments evaluated.